Every one waits for their morning paper with baited breath. Some just wait for the paper to catch the day’s cartoons. This gives the day’s happenings in a gist with humour packed. R K Laxman’s cartoons have always been the strength of The Times of India. It was said that even politicians dreaded his comment. Indeed cartooning is a rewarding career both creatively and financially. One can express oneself and reach the hearts of millions of people. To take up this career there is no need for special education.

If some one aims to make a living by drawing cartoons, then one should be good at drawing. He should have developed drawing skills by the time he passes out of school. Cartoonists sketch single cartoons or entire comic strips. The aim of drawing a cartoon is to tickle the funny bone.

According to R K Laxman, “Cartooning is the art of disapproval and complaint and it treats men and matter with a certain healthy skepticism and good-humoured ridicule, but never malice”.

Cartoonists are of different kinds. Some are Editorial Cartoonists, who leave a punch on the current issues and take a dig at events. Some of the popular names are Mario Miranda and Sudhir Dhar. They sway the opinion of the public. Some cartoonists work to bring out comic books, while others are engaged in animation or creating full length moving cartoons like Tom & Jerry or Scooby Do series popular on television among the young and old alike. To put in short, cartoonists are artists who make moving pictures talk.

Pencil, charcoal, pen and ink are used to draw cartoons. A good cartoonist usually makes a rough sketch with pencil and then finalises it with pen and ink. If one has clearly observed the cartoons, one would see the comment  appearing in balloons or bubbles around the heads of characters. In some they appear below the comic. In short, cartoons are visible in all visual media.

Qualities of a Cartoonist

A cartoonist has to maintain good inter-personal relationships and work single-handedly or in a team. He should have excellent sense of humour and imagination and a good hand to put them on paper. The sketches must come to life when people look at them. Facial expressions and other comic situations should be illustrated well to bring out the pun. If one is working in a newspaper, one is working under deadlines and one has to give the best in the shortest time. Thanks to modern technology, there are many software programmes that assist a cartoonist. There are very few artists, who still draw on paper.

A good cartoonist has a well-stocked library of political, sport and public personalities. He sometimes travels with photographers and journalists to get a feel of the atmosphere. A cartoonist has to bear in mind that what he draws should interest the readers.

Qualifications of a Cartoonist

For a career in Cartoon, it is not essential to have a professional qualification. Any one, who has any eye for innovation and is good at communicating thoughts through sketches, filled with humour can try their luck. For becoming a professional cartoonist, at graduation or PG level, one could study graphic designing or sketching programmes. For cartooning, knowledge of animation is an advantage when one wants to work in the electronic media.

Opportunities

In India, the profession of a cartoonist has emerged as a lucrative career. One can find employment as a political or comic cartoonist in any newspaper or magazine or even work for animation houses. Presently, to catch up with the electronic media, many newspapers are dedicating a page to cartoons. The salary of a cartoonist depends on the organisation one works for. A beginner can expect remuneration between Rs. 10,000-Rs 15,000 per month. He can climb the ladder by experience and proficiency.

A former judge of Karnataka High Court A.J. Sadashiva inaugurating the National Cartoonists Conference at Bangalore last year had remarked that the power of cartoon was such that it could topple a government. “As the perfect combination of wit, satire, and punch, the genre of cartoon has carved a separate niche for itself in the world of mass communication,” Sadashiva said.

Institutes offering cartoon courses in India:

* National Institute of Design ( NID, Ahmedabad) www.nid.edu

* J.J School of Arts

* Zee Institute of Creative Arts ( ZICA)

* Industrial Design Center (IDC), IIT - Mumbai & Guwahati

* Pentamedia Graphics Limited, Chennai

* Anitoons Productions, New Delhi.
* Aptech University (at Arena Multimedia Centres) www.arena-multimedia.com www.aptechuniversity.ac.in

* C-DAC, National Multimedia Resource Centre, Agricultural College, Near District Industries Centre, Shivajinagar, Pune 411005

* C-DAC (www.cdac.in ) multi-location, A-34, Indl Area, Phase-VIII, SAS Nagar, Mohali-160071, www.cedtimohali.org

* Centre for Development of Imaging Technology, Chitranjali Studio Complex, Thiruvallom PO, Thiruvananthapuram (Ker), www.c-dit.org

* Film & Television Institute of India, Law College Road, Pune-411004 (Mah), www.ftiindia.com

* Heart Animation Academy, 7A, Road, 12 Banjara Hills, Hyderabad-500034 (AP) & Mumbai.

* Kerala Cartoon Academy, Chittor Road, Kochi

*  Toonz Animation India Private Limited, Nila Technopark Campus, Thiruvananthapuram, bill@toonzanimationindia.com